Labeling framework in Slow Food experience

What does Slow Food do?

Promotes a food model wich respects the environment, traditional and cultural identities, capable of bringing consumers close to producers, creating a virtuous network of international relationships and greater sharing of knowledge.

The starting point: to save local varieties because they are often the best adapted to the territory

They require less water and chemical inputs They are a priceless cultural heritage

What we want to save is not just genetic material, not just a catalogue of seeds. Each product means seeds, land, culture,

environmental and social sustainability, nutrition and taste.

Ecosystem – Bèarn Mountains (France)

Bèarn Mountains Cheese

Species = goat Breed = Chamoisee goats of the Alps

Population: Roccaverano goat

Roccaverano Cheese

CULTURE TERRITORY

ARCHITECTURE

POETRY WATER

LANGUAGE

MUSIC

CLIMATE

SOIL

ARTISANAL KNOWLEDGE

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

ECONOMIC

SUSTAINABILITY

CULTURE TERRITORY

ARCHITECTURE

POETRY WATER

LANGUAGE

MUSIC

CLIMATE

SOIL

ARTISANAL KNOWLEDGE

SMELL

TASTE

APPEARANCE

COOKING

NOURISHMENT

TOUCH

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

CULTURE TERRITORY

ARCHITECTURE

POETRY WATER

LANGUAGE

MUSIC

CLIMATE

SOIL

ARTISANAL KNOWLEDGE

Support to Small-scale sustainable producers

• Ark of Taste started in 1996 now counting 947 products from 58 countries selected by 19 national commissions

• Presidia started in 1999 now counting 450 all over the world, involving more than 13.000 producers

Our main project which developes our experience in labeling: the Presidia, which sustain quality

productions at risk of extinction, protect unique ecosystems, save local varieties.

A presidium can be carried out: a traditional product at risk of extinction

Aged Artisanal Gouda - Netherlands

A traditional production technique at risk of extinction (e.g. fishing, breeding, processing or cultivating)

Camogli Tonnarella Presidium - Italy

A rural landscape or ecosystem at risk of extinction Maestrat millenary trees extra vergin oil Presidium - Spain

To create a Presidium two aspects must always be verified:

Environmental sustainability (“clean”)

Environmental sustainability (“clean”)

Social and economic sustainability (“fair”)

Social and economic sustainability (“fair”)

What effect they have?

• Recognition from community • Creation of brand for artisan products • Give producers a mean for promotion and development of their product • Give consumers a guarantee of quality

Products must be:

1) of outstanding quality in terms of taste

2) linked to the memory and identity of a group, and can be a vegetable species, variety, ecotype or animal population that is well acclimatized over a medium-long period in a specific territory

3) linked environmentally, socio-economically and historically to a specific area

4) produced in limited quantities, by farms or by small-scale processing companies

5) threatened with either real or potential extinction

The Presidia idea is to prefigure a

NEW AGRICULTURE, a kind of agriculture that

sustain the quality, the animal welfare, the sustainability,

the health and the customers pleasure

An agriculture a bit ecologist

and a bit gastronomic

International Presidia: economic outcomes

Presidia: social outcomes

• Preservation of cultural identity

• Training, seminars, courses and technical assistance

• Coordinated efforts and democratic methods

• Relationships with local institutions

• Knowledge transmission

• Small family-run businesses, with variations depending on the type of production

• identifyes production area and collects all the needed informations • focalizes criticisms and suggests possible solutions • offers assistence to the producers for mantaining the high organolectic quality of their products • helps producers to create an association of farmers and to elaborate a production protocol

Slow Food role:

BUILD A PRESIDIUM STEP BY STEP: Fill out the Presidium application form

those wishing to request the creation of a new Presidium must fill out the application form (which can be downloaded from the website)

Presidia are technically coordinated by the

Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, which:

receives requests for new projects;

collects and reviews support material for a nomination; organizes initial visits to producers;

and officially authorizes the Presidium launch.

Organize an initial visit to producers

If the application is valid, the Foundation can organize an initial visit to producers along with

the local Slow Food contacts.

The visit must examine production sites and include a meeting with local contacts (convivium

leaders, experts, institutions, potential spon- sors) and a meeting with all interested

producers

Draw up a PRODUCTION PROTOCOL

For each product category, specific guidelines exist (available on the Foundation website), which should be

used to guide the drafting of Presidia protocol.

The guide- lines include, for example: the obligation to use raw milk in cheesemaking;

prohibit the use of chemical flavors, preservatives and additives;

require sustainable forms of farming and fishing; obligate the safeguarding of traditional production

techniques and sites; etc.

Fundamental aspects of the protocol

The protocol precisely defines the area of production, documents the history of the product and describes in

detail all phases of cultivation (or breeding) and processing.

It strengthens the awareness of producers who are

often working together for the first time to compare production techniques and put their knowledge on

paper.

The protocol must be approved both by the Foundation and the producers.

THE PRODUCTION PROTOCOL MUST BE WRITTEN TOGHETER WITH THE PRODUCERS !

Slow Food has always emphasized the importance of transparency in food labelling so consumers can be properly informed on the quality, wholesomeness and traceability of the foods they consume. This enables them to make informed choices.

To judge the quality of a product, chemical or physical analyses are not enough, and not even tasting is sufficient. Any technical approach will not take into consideration all that is behind a product – the origin, history, processing technique – and does not allow the consumer to understand if a food is produced in a way that respect the environment or social justice.

Frequently, the most healthy and authentic products are the ones that are penalized: their labels are legal but inadequate, and do not do justice to the extraordinary cheeses, sweets, cured meats and genuine artisanal foods to which they are applied.

The quality of a food product is first and foremost a narrative, that

begins wth the origins of the product (the territory) and includes cultivation techniques, processing, preservation methods, and the organolectic and nutritional characteristics. Only a narrative can restore a product’s true value.

Narrative label

In order to offer consumers

more complete and transparent information,

Slow Food launched its narrative label project.

A narrative label does not replace the mandatory label,

but supplements it by providing additional information

regarding varieties and breeds, cultivation

and processing methods, areas of origin, animal welfare,

and advice on storage and use.

… Telling the Story of Cheese and Dairy Products

Product Describe the main characteristics of the cheese (or dairy product), including information on its history or interesting facts about its production. Example: The saras del fen is a kind of aged ricotta. It has a round shape and compact paste, is finely granular and ivory white in color, with possible browning with advanced aging. Externally it is wrapped with hay and may be covered with mold. Territory Indicate where it is produced (the province, the country or even the region, to indicate precisely where the work is done). If it is significant, indicate the altitude. Report on where the animals graze, if it is different than where the company is located. It is also useful to specify the pedoclimatic characteristics of the production area, but only those that give the product particularly unique, identifying or organoleptic characteristics. Example: The company processes the milk in Sordevolo (Piedmont, Italy) in Alto Elvo: from March to May and from October to November in the Croce farm, 700 meters above sea level; from June to September in the Muanda Alps, 1,470 meters above sea level, on the slopes of Mount Mucrone.

Animals Indicate the number of animals raised on the farm and which breed they belong to (especially describing characteristics if it is a rare, local breed). Describe how they are raised and the amount of pasture. Explain what the animals are fed, listing the various components (fresh forage, corn, field beans, etc.). Indicate whether they eat silage (both corn and grass). Specify if it is grown on the farm or if it is purchased off farm, and if it is certified GMO free. Example: We raise 35 Alpine Brown cows and, during the summer, they graze on pasture of about 200 hectares (about 494 acres). For the rest of the year the animals are kept in the barn, but they have one hectare (almost 2.5 acres) of land that they can graze on and are fed with hay (70% produced on the farm). Locally bought certified GMO free grains are also integrated into their diet. Animal welfare Explain which practices guarantee animal welfare, with a focus on available space, mutilation, methods and timing of castration, recovery areas, contact with the mother and treatments administered. Example: Animal welfare is guaranteed through rearing in mountain pastures during the summer and in stalls of an appropriate size during the winter. Veal remain beside their mothers in specific stalls until weaned. Mutilation practices are not preformed. Processing Indicate the type of milk used (cow/goat, whole/skim, etc.) and specify if it is raw or pasteurized or thermized. Briefly describe the processing technique: indicate from how many milkings the milk comes from, if enzymes are used (industrial, selected locally, self-produced), the type of rennet used (veal, lamb, paste, liquid, thistle), the mode of breaking and collecting the curd, the shaping, and possible pressing and salting.

Example:

Stringy cheese from cow’s milk, whole and raw. To the milk, from the morning milking, you add the whey and the goat or lamb rennet paste. Break the curd with a wooden spoon and allow the maturation of the curds in the whey. The curds are collected, cut into slices and immersed in a wooden tub with almost boiling water. The cheese is formed by hand, giving it the characteristic shape of a pear with a head. After a short dip in cold water, which allows it to firm up, the caciocavallo cheese is salted in brine.

Aging

Describe the ripening period and the location (if it is a natural location - cellar or cave - or if it is a climate-controlled room). If aging is done by others, indicate the name of the affineur and where they are located.

Example:

The cheese ripens on wooden boards for at least 20 days in a climate-controlled cellar.

Production period

Indicate the period in which the cheese is produced.

Example:

Marzolina is produced from March to June.

Tips for use or storage

How and where to best store the product (for example, wrapped in a cotton or linen cloth, in an airtight container in the refrigerator - and at what temperature - or simply in a cool, well ventilated place).

• … Telling the Story of Cheese and Dairy • Products • Product • Describe the main characteristics of the cheese (or dairy product), including information on its history or interesting facts • about its production. • Example: • The saras del fen is a kind of aged ricotta. It has a round shape and compact paste, is finely granular and ivory white in • color, with possible browning with advanced aging. Externally it is wrapped with hay and may be covered with mold. • Territory • Indicate where it is produced (the province, the country or even the region, to indicate precisely where the work is done). If • it is significant, indicate the altitude. Report on where the animals graze, if it is different than where the company is located. • It is also useful to specify the pedoclimatic characteristics of the production area, but only those that give the product • particularly unique, identifying or organoleptic characteristics. • Example: • The company processes the milk in Sordevolo (Piedmont, Italy) in Alto Elvo: from March to May and from October to • November in the Croce farm, 700 meters above sea level; from June to September in the Muanda Alps, 1,470 meters • above sea level, on the slopes of Mount Mucrone.

Does the narrative label have legal value? Narrative labels do not replace the legal label, but are added to what is required by law, deepening the content of the information given. The narrative label can therefore be integrated parallel to the legal one, or it can contain within it also the information required by law.